Saucepan lid



Feb. 27, 1934. v M. N. DUNLAP SAUCEPAN LID Filed April 15, 1935 J/wmhwLZ MDuwZap tion; that Patented Feb. 27, 1934 PATENT OFFlC SAUCEPANLID Marshall N. Dunlap,

one-half to Arthur Chicago, Ill., assignor of Molden, Sioux City, IowaApplication April 15, 1933. Serial No. 666,241

I 4 Claims.

This invention relates to the general art of cooking utensils, havingreference more particularly to sauce pans such as are used mainly forboiling vegetables. The ordinary sauce pan is equipped with a handle andwith a lid consisting simply of a metal disc of a size to seat on thetop edge of the pan and usually supplied with a central handle in theform of a ring or knob. The housewife or cook, when pouring oif thecooking water, tilts the pan with one hand to pouring position and, withthe other hand, holds the lid against sliding off, at the same timeslightly swinging the lower edge of the lid away from the opposed edgeof the pan to form a narrow gap or crack through which the Water andsteam can escape. This is not only a two-hand operation, but the handholding the lid is liable to be scalded by the escaping steam unlesscare is exercised to prevent it. Moreover, when cooking small vegetableslike peas and beans, if the lid is swung too far away from the edge ofthe pan, part of the solid contents escape with the water and steam,thus causing waste.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved sauce panlid that will enable the pouring operation to be performed with one handonly, thus eliminating the danger of scalding the other hand; that willbe automatically retained on the pan during the pouring operawillautomatically tilt away from the lower edge portion of the pan when thelatter is tilted to pouring position to provide a crack or gap for theoutflow of water and steam; that will securely hold back the solidmatter in the pan during the pouring operation; and that may be appliedto and removed from the pan with sub- 1stdantially the same ease as theordinary plain disc Still other objects and attendant advantages of theinvention will be apparent to persons familiar with this class ofcooking utensils and their mode of use from the following detaileddescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein Ihave illustrated one simple and practical embodiment of the invention,and in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the pan and lid, onthe line 11 of Fig. 3, but showing the lid in fully closed position.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lid in inverted position.

Fig. 3 is a perspective in tilted pouring position.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates the body and 11 the handle of anordinary sheet metal View of the pan and lid to my invention I solder orotherpass water and steam, but hold back small or finely comminutedvegetables. This screen 15 is also preferably made of substantial depth,so that, when the lower portion of the lid is tilted away from theopposed edge of the pan an ample distance to allow the free escape ofwater and steam, as shown in Fig. 3, it will still span the pour gapbetween the lid and pan and thus hold back the solid matter beingcooked.

To make the pouring a one-hand operation, I {it equip the lid withmeans, cooperating with the pan, for preventing the lid from falling orsliding off the pan when the latter is tilted to pouring position. Thismeans preferably takes the form of a pair of depending hooks 16 that aresoldered or otherwise secured to lid at approximately diametricallyopposite points of the latter, with their free ends spaced apart adistance slightly less than the diameter of the upper end of the panbody. When the cover is in place on the pan the free ends of the hooksunderlie the bead 12 with a small clearance, as best shown in Fig. 1.With this construction the lid can be applied to the pan by simplysliding it edgewise over the top of the pan, with the screen 15foremost, until the screen abuts against the wall of the pan, as shownin Fig. 1, at which time one of the hooks 16 comes into edge contactwith the handle 11. Now, when the pan is tilted for the pouringoperation, as shown pan pushes the lower until the free ends of thehooks 16 abut against the bead 12. This limits the tilting movement ofthe lid on the pan, and at the same time the hooks 16 prevent the lidfrom falling away from the pan and both the screen 15 and the hooks 16prevent the lid from sliding oiT the pan. When the pan is returned toupright position, the lid automatically reseats itself. A mere backwardsliding and lifting movement removes the lid from the pan.

The foregoing description, in connection with the drawing, will, it isbelieved, make clear the novel structural features of the invention, and

i the edge of the l .95 in Fig. 3, the weight of the solid matter in theportion of the lid outwardlythe manner in which the stated objects andadvantages are secured. The improvement adds but a trifle to the cost ofmanufacture, and renders the utensil much simpler and safer tomanipulate. And, while I have shown and described one simple andpractical form in which the improvement may be physically expressed,changes in the structural details may be resorted to within the scopeand purview of the claims. And while I have described the invention asan improvement in lids for sauce pans, it is manifest that its use maybe extended to lids for frying pans and other utensils of the samegeneral nature and use as sauce pans.

I claim: I

l. A removable sauce pan lid having on its under side a depending screenadapted to span a portion of the joint between the lid and the top edgeof the pan, and hooks on said lid adapted to engage with a bead on thetop edge of the pan to lock the lid against falling off the pan when thelatter is tilted to pouring position.

2'. A removable sauce pan lid having on its under side a dependingscreen adapted to span a portion of the joint between the lid and thetop edge of the pan,

of said lid adapte top edge of the p being spaced apa the outside diamewhereby to lock the pan when the latter is able sauce pan under side adepending s portion of the joint edge of the pan, an the edge of said 1iand a pair of hooks on the edge d to engage with a head on the an, thefree ends of said hooks t a distance slightly less than ter of the topof the pan body, lid against sliding off the tilted to pouring position.lid having on its creen adapted to span a between the lid and the top da pair of opposed hooks on d adapted to engage with a f the pan, saidhooks bef the pan, thereby peran when the bead on the top edge 0 ingdeeper than the bead o mitting a tilting of the lid on the p latter istilted to pouring pos emovable sauce pan under side a depending portionof the joi edge of the pan, serving, through engage of the pan andindepen hold the lid against sliding o latter is tilted to pouringposition MARSHALL lid having on its screen adapted to span a ween thelid and the top and means carried by said lid ment with the outer sidedently of the screen to if the pan when the N. DUNLAP.

